Tag Archives: conn smythe trophy

No Better Player Than Jonathan Toews

Posted on June 9, 2010 by Scott Taylor| Leave a comment

So what’s a kid do for an encore?

Wednesday night in Philadelphia, Patrick Kane scored a weak goal in overtime to give the Chicago Blackhawks a 4-3 victory over the Philadelphia Flyers in Game 6 of the Stanley Cup final. It turned out to be the final game of the championship round of the NHL’s post-season and Chicago will now get to go home and have a parade.

Kane had a tremendous championship series, but not nearly as good a Stanley Cup playoff as Winnipeg’s own Jonathan Toews.

Toews was absolutely remarkable from the start of the playoffs right up to the last goal in Wednesday’s finale. He finished second in scoring in the post-season with 29 points (the Winnipeg Jets final draft pick, Daniel Briere won the scoring title with three points to Toews one in the final game to finish with 30 points). He was a leader in every respect and after the Hawks celebrated their victory, Toews was awarded the Conn Smythe Trophy as the playoff MVP.

What a sensational year for Toews. Last fall there were people in the Eastern part of our nation who didn’t think Toews should be on Canada’s Olympic team. Not only did he make the team, he scored a big goal in the gold medal game, led Canada to a magnificent victory and was named the Olympic tournament’s top forward.

Wednesday night, Toews picked up an assist and played nearly 24 minutes (the most of any Blackhawks forward) as he led the Blackhawks to their first Stanley Cup since 1961. He was also the most valuable player at the most important time of the year.

And he’s only 22.

→ Leave a comment

Posted in 2010 NHL playoffs, Blog

Tagged , , , , , , , , , ,

Counting Down to Hawks-Flyers?

Posted on May 19, 2010 by Scott Taylor| Leave a comment

I understand the Hawks part. For months it’s been clear that the hockey team Dale Tallon built has had the necessary speed, skill and grit to reach the Stanley Cup finals. Must admit, I didn’t think they had the goaltending, but Antti Niemi has proven smarter people than me to be wrong.

Of course, it hasn’t hurt the Hawks that they’ve won a record seven straight road games in the playoffs and now lead the San Jose Sharks 2-0 heading back to Chicago. The Western Conference final could be a lot shorter than anyone would have guessed.

The part that remains confusing for me is the Philadelphia Flyers part. I was at the Flyers-Rangers game, the final game of the regular season, when Philadelphia was lucky to dispose of New York and grab that final available playoff spot (the seventh seed in the East). I had no clue from that Sunday afternoon that Philadelphia would be able to take out both New Jersey and Boston and not only be around for the Eastern Final, but leading 2-0 in the series.

And the two wins have not been flukes. Philly massacred Montreal 6-0 in the opener and then whupped the Habs 3-0 in Game 2. A Montreal team that had been scoring at will during the playoffs had just been shut out in back-to-back games while their “unbeatable” goaltender now had an embarrassing 4.50 GAA in just 120 minutes of Eastern championship series play.

Over in Chicago, Jonathan Toews, the Winnipeg kid who went to UND, has been the clear choice as Conn Smythe Trophy winner this year. He leads the playoffs in scoring and tallied the winner in a 4-2 victory over San Jose on Tuesday night. It’s amazing to think that for most of the lead-up to the 2010 Olympics, the Eastern pundits didn’t think Toews should be on Canada’s Olympic team. After proving he was the best player in that tournament, he’s proving now that he’s the best player in the world. Playing on a line with big Dustin Byfuglien and little Patrick Kane, he’s made the Hawks an offensive force. And this, starting with a guy who claims he doesn’t even worry about scoring goals.

“I don’t even really think about scoring,” he told reporters after his team’s Game 1 victory. “I want to kill penalties and I want to play with as much energy as I can and then create as much as I can in the offensive zone when that’s my role. I’ve gone into these games focused on working hard. A lot of offense has just happened as a result of hard work.”

Two hard-working teams have the upper hand heading into Games 3 of the Eastern and Western championships. One suspects the Sharks are done and if the Habs don’t snap out of it at home on Thursday, the Stanley Cup final could probably start this weekend.

→ Leave a comment

Posted in 2010 NHL playoffs, Blog

Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Five Men Who Should Be In The Hockey Hall of Fame.

Posted on November 3, 2009 by Scott Taylor| Leave a comment

Because my friend old Ed Sweeney, can’t really do it anymore, I have taken up the gauntlet.

Every year, as the new inductees to the Hockey Hall of Fame are feted, I like to write an open letter on Mr. Sweeney’s behalf in an effort to alert Bill Hay or Jim Gregory or Harry Sinden or somebody on the Hall of Fame selection committee, to the fact that to the hockey historians in this part of Canada, the Toronto-based Hall is still a sad Eastern/American joke.

For more than a decade, Sweeney kept a list of five men, coaches, builders and players who should be in the Hall, but for reasons he could just never understand, had been consistently ignored by the people who made the Hall’s final selections.

Sweeney is an old baseball player and bowling champion (he used to set pins at Billy Mosienko Lanes in Winnipeg’s North End) who has always had that deep, abiding love for hockey that only a Canadian can have. He’s the former curator of the Manitoba Hockey Hall of Fame and was, for a long time, an active member of the Canadian Association for Hockey Research.

This year, I have taken it upon myself to offer up Mr. Sweeney’s annual letter to the Hall, a letter that includes the names of five people who should be in the Hall, but have been left out for reasons I simply don’t want to consider.

Here, once again, is “Sweeney’s List”…

Robert “Butch Goring: He played 16 years with L.A., Boston and the New York Islanders. Was a Masterton, Lady Byng and Conn Smythe Trophy winner and helped the Islanders win four Stanley Cups in the early 1980s. “If Clark Gillies is in the Hall, then Butch Goring should be in the Hall,” said Sweeney. There is an outstanding profile of Goring at

http://www.legendsofhockey.net:8080/LegendsOfHockey/jsp/SearchPlayer.jsp?player=12752

Murray Murdoch: The NHL’s original Ironman, Murdoch played 11 years with the New York Rangers from 1926-27 to 1936-37, won two Stanley Cups and never missed a game. There is a tremendous profile of Murdoch at http://www.newyorkrangers.com/tradition/bio.asp?Player=Murdoch

Billy Reay: “Most people don’t believe me when I tell them Billy Reay is NOT in the Hall of Fame,” Sweeney always said. Reay retired as one of only two players to win a Memorial Cup, an Allan Cup and a Stanley Cup (with the Canadiens) and after retiring as a player he went on to coach the Chicago Blackhawks. He left coaching in 1976 with 598 wins — at the time, the second most in NHL history.

Lorne Chabot: Port Arthur’s “Old Bulwarks” won a Stanley Cup with the Rangers and had 73 shutouts in his career back when the NHL was in its infancy. There is a fine profile of Chabot at

http://www.legendsofhockey.net:8080/LegendsOfHockey/jsp/SearchPlayer.jsp?player=18462

John Ferguson: “Even if you don’t count the fact, he was the best fighter in the NHL and a pretty good player during his time, John has to be in the Hall as a builder,” said Sweeney. “He was assistant GM with Team Canada ’72 and then GM of the Rangers. He built the Winnipeg Jets and had a lot to do with building the Ottawa Senators and San Jose Sharks of today.”

I hope someone out there in the big Eastern city will remember Goring, Murdoch, Chabot, Reay and Ferguson. One of the Hall’s 18 selection committee members can nominate a candidate and perhaps this is the year they’ll remember true greatness.

On behalf of Ed Sweeney, I hope that this is year the Hall’s gatekeepers will give their heads a shake.

→ Leave a comment

Posted in Blog

Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

If Red Wings Take the Series, Helm Could Be Conn Smythe Winner

Posted on June 5, 2009 by Scott Taylor| Leave a comment

Thursday night in Pittsburgh, the Penguins sent a message to the Detroit Red Wings: “If you think you can lollygag around with a man advantage just because you’re the defending Stanley Cup champions, think again.”

The Red Wings had a 2-1 lead in Game 4 and the Pens had a man in the box, but a shorthanded goal by Pittsburgh tied the game and in a blink of an eye, the Pens had scored two more to win 4-2 and send the Stanley Cup final back to Detroit with the series tied 2-2.

Without a healthy Pavel Datsyuk, the Red Wings looked old and undermanned against the Pens on Thursday. The Wings really looked a man short. In fact, by the midway point of the second period, the Wings looked downright exhausted. Pittsburgh’s enthusiasm at home made a huge difference and the Pens made sure that the final remained a home-team series. 

So now we go back to Detroit and the Wings need some rest. In fact, these guys need 48 hours off before facing a rejuvenated Pens outfit again. Won’t quite get that, but they will need to sleep through the next optional workout.

Still, and to be absolutely fair, home teams have won every game in this series and there is no reason to believe that won’t continue to happen. As the adage goes: The team with home ice advantage is not in any trouble until it loses a game on home ice.

So for argument’s sake, let us assume, the Wings continue to win at home and eventually win the series 4-3. This team has had some tremendous players during the playoffs: goalie Chris Osgood is right at the top as is hard checking Henrik Zetterberg and steady (35-minutes-a-game) defenceman Nicklas Lidstrom.

But frankly, if one player continues to play as well as he has in the final, and continues to lead the Wings both as a checker and scorer, then Darren Helm of St. Andrews, Man., has a legitimate right to consider himself Conn Smythe worthy.

Thursday, he was consistently the best player the Red Wings had. He’s demonstrated that on more than one occasion this spring. He’s scored some big goals and he’s also done a wonderful job in the corners. He hits, he wins faceoffs and he backchecks as well as any player in the post-season.

I love the fact that when he gets hit, which he often does because of his aggressive style, he just gets up and plays. No slashing, no face-washes, no belligerent  words or gestures. No whining. He just plays.

Frankly, even if he’s not the Conn Smythe winner, he’s been the most refreshing young player in the entire post-season. And his style is the best thing thats happened to the game in decades.

→ Leave a comment

Posted in Blog

Tagged , , , , , , , , , ,

Old coaches, young superstars and the best goalie in the playoffs.

Posted on May 26, 2009 by Scott Taylor| Leave a comment

As we get set to watch the Pittsburgh Penguins eliminate the Carolina Hurricanes in four straight games (barring a miracle), in tonight’s Eastern Conference final there was a boatload of hockey news today.

There was also just some stuff.

Onward:

1) Pat Quinn was hired as head coach by the Edmonton Oilers today. He’s 66. Personally, I like Pat Quinn, a lot. He’s a fine man, who did a wonderful job with Team Canada in Salt Lake City in 2002 and with our national junior team. I had a lot of respect for him when he was head coach of the Leafs and I must admit, he’s always been very respectful to me.

The question has to be in this case: Can a 66-year-old coach find happiness with a young team in Edmonton? Especially after the Calgary Flames just dumped 59-year-old Mike Keenan, another old coach, who gets recycled more than old truck tires. 

There is a difference, however. Keenan is a guy who likes “his guys.” He likes veteran players he knows and can trust. And that’s fine. Trouble is, “his guys” don’t win anymore. Quinn, however, during his time with the national junior team, proved to everyone he can teach young players how to play the game.

And that’s exactly what the Oilers need.

Age has nothing to do with anything. It’s attitude and approach that matters. Quinn might be 66, but he has already demonstrated that he respects young, enthusiastic hockey players and can take those types of players and show them how to win.

Full disclosure: I like Pat Quinn as a person. And I also believe he will be a great head coach in Edmonton.

2) Tonight, we get to watch the likes of Sidney Crosby, Eric Staal, Evgeni Malkin and Cam Ward play an extremely important NHL playoff game.

If the Penguins win, the young stars from Pittsburgh will zoom into the Stanley Cup final for a second straight year (frankly, no matter what the Hurricanes do, Pittsburgh’s offence should put a quick nail in Carolina’s coffin).

What is most interesting, however, is that whenever the media looks for a storyline involving the Pens, it’s always Sidney Crosby vs. (insert name here). Sidney Crosby vs. Alexander Ovechkin. Sidney Crosby vs. Jarome Iginla. Sidney Crosby vs. oh, I don’t know, Johan Franzen?

Unfortunately, the mainstream hockey media loves a story no matter how silly it is. If anyone is looking for a consistent storyline, it should be this one: Evgeni Malkin vs. the hockey world.

This spring, Ovechkin will likely be awarded the Hart Trophy as the regular season MVP and so far in the playoffs, Crosby has the inside track to the Conn Smythe Trophy. 

Meanwhile, all Malkin has done is win the league scoring championship and lead all scorers in the playoffs (12 goals and 16 assists). 

There was a day before all these mouth-breathing TV bingo callers became uber-experts, a day when scoring goals and dishing out assists was an important part of the game. And today, nobody does that better than Evgeni Malkin.

I guess he’s no Sidney Crosby (he certainly doesn’t have the same group of publicists), but he could be the Rodney Dangerfield of the NHL.

3) Of course, if Malkin isn’t hockey’s answer to Rodney D., it’s Detroit Red Wings goaltender Chris Osgood.

Ozzie is close to winning his third Stanley Cup as a starter (he was also on a winner as the No. 2 to Mike Vernon). He’s also been to the finals one other time, been a Vezina Trophy runner-up and won the Jennings Trophy twice. He was the second goalie ever to score a goal (following Ron Hextall), was the No. 1 goalie (statistically) in the NHL in the 1995-96 season, is 10th in the NHL in career wins and the winningest goaltender in Red Wings history. He’s been an all-star, won Stanley Cups in two decades and is on the verge of going back-to-back.

And yet, you ask anybody in the mainstream media and he/she will tell you: “Detroit’s only problem is goaltending.”

Hogwash.

I can’t tell you how sick I am of hearing our TV experts talk of Tim Thomas this or Roberto Luongo that or Cam Ward… whatever. The best goalie in the playoffs last year was Chris Osgood and clearly the best goalie this year is Chris Osgood.

At 37, he’s never been better. Right now he leads the playoffs in wins with 11, is second in goals against average at 2.14 and fourth in save percentage at .921. He’s 11-4 in the post-season, has an assist and a shutout.

He’s often hung out to dry by his always-attacking teammates and yet he’s made some magnificent saves in this year’s post-season. He’s been tremendous.

At this stage, I don’t want to argue with the experts who believe Crosby is a shoo-in to take the Conn Smythe. But there is still a lot of hockey left.

And right now, the best goalie in the playoffs has not been Jonas Hiller, Cam Ward or Tim Thomas. It’s been Chris Osgood.

→ Leave a comment

Posted in 2009 NHL Playoffs, Blog

Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

On to the Conference finals: We like Wings and Pens — Again — in the Stanley Cup final

Posted on May 16, 2009 by Scott Taylor| Leave a comment

For those of us trying to make money in the wonderful world of Sport Select, the 2009 Stanley Cup playoffs have been a pretty decent source of revenue. 

Granted, after two rounds, the two top seeds — the Boston Bruins in the East and the San Jose harks in the West — are gone, but for the most part, the teams we have selected to reach the Conference Finals, have indeed reached the Conference finals.

Pittsburgh, with Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin will face Carolina with Eric Staal (our darkhorse pick as a Stanley Cup finalist) in the Eastern final, while the “Winnipeg” teams, Chicago with captain Jonathan Toews, Duncan Keith and Cam Barker against Detroit, with Darren Helm and Derek Meech, are in the Western final.

That’s obviously the way it should be.

For the record, here at rcsportsblog.com (you can follow us on twitter), we went 7-1 in the first round and 3-1 in Round 2. The only outcome we did not select correctly in Round 1 was, of course, Anaheim’s upset of Jonathan Cheechoo’s San Jose Sharks and our only incorrect choice in Round 2 was Carolina’s Game 7 upset of the No. 1-ranked Boston Bruins.

Interestingly, we also said that the two most interesting — and exciting — series would be Chicago-Vancouver and Pittsburgh-Washington. They were.

So on with the Show. Here’s our look at the third round, the conference finals, of the 2009 Stanley Cup playoffs.

ROUND THREE

EASTERN CONFERENCE

No. 4 Pittsburgh Penguins vs. No. 6 Carolina Hurricanes

The Pens won the season series 2-1-1 and were not only in last year’s Stanley Cup final, but have five players with Stanley Cup rings. They obviously have enough experience to handle this series against a team that won the Cup in 2006 and still have 10 players from that team. The Pens have the stars in Crosby, Malkin, Gonchar and Jordan Staal, but Carolina has so much grit and character, that it’s impossible to count them out. It also doesn’t hurt that when it looked like this team was out of it back in February, goalie Cam Ward went 14-4-2 over the final 20 games. Ward won the Conn Smythe Trophy in 2006 and will have to be that good again against all the Pittsburgh firepower. We like the Penguins in five.

WESTERN CONFERENCE

No. 2 Detroit Red Wings vs. No. 4 Chicago Blackhawks

The Red Wings are the defending Stanley Cup champions and they’re certainly good enough to win it again. In fact, the Red Wings have the best team in the National Hockey League. They roll four strong lines, have a Norris Trophy defenceman in Nick Lidstrom and an MVP-calibre forward in Pavel Datsyuk, they are well-coached and have better goaltending (Chris Osgood) than the Eastern media will ever give credit. The Wings won the season series against the upstart Hawks, but when asked about this matchup, I always see that January 1, outdoor game at Wrigley Field, the one in which the Hawks rode the home crowd to an early lead and then collapsed under the weight of the Wings speed and talent. The most important thing the Hawks have going for them is youth and enthusiasm and, hey, that might carry them, but we like Detroit in six.

→ Leave a comment

Posted in Blog

Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Three things rattling around in my brain…

Posted on May 14, 2009 by Scott Taylor| Leave a comment

I have a few more things rattling around in my cranium other than this, but after crunchy peanut butter and last night’s Power Ball numbers, these are the only things that would likely matter to anyone else…

1) NHL commissioner Gary Bettman gets more hypocritical every day. He says he wants to do whatever he can for his owners, but when one gets in serious trouble — like Jerry Moyes in Phoenix — Bettman throws him under the bus.

Here is the latest response by Jim Balsillie to a court filing by the National Hockey League:

HAMILTON, ON, May 14 /CNW/ – Jim Balsillie today issued the following statement with regard to NHL motions filed in a Phoenix bankruptcy court: 

   … “I can tell you this. I made a generous good faith offer to buy the Coyotes from Jerry Moyes, who I understand is the owner of the Coyotes. Who owns or controls the team is a distinction without a difference. The team itself is still bankrupt, voluntarily or not. The owner of the team has a fiduciary obligation towards the creditors.

       “My offer, which goes the furthest in satisfying creditors’ claims, is still the same. It’s $212 million to buy the Coyotes and bring them to the best un-served hockey market in the world in Southern Ontario. We look forward to discussing this no matter what the outcome on May 19th.

    “At the end of the day, this is about the passion Canadians feel for the game of hockey and a chance to provide those fans with the opportunity to support a seventh NHL team. That’s what this is all about, great hockey fans in a great hockey market.”

Sadly, Gary Bettman wouldn’t know a good hockey market or a good hockey fan if one tripped and fell over his throat.

Why Bettman hates Canada and, for the most part, hates the game of hockey, is a mystery.

2) Remember Jean-Sebastien Giguere? In case you don’t, he led the Anaheim Ducks to the Stanley Cup in 2007.

Giguere is still in Anaheim, but he doesn’t play much anymore. the hero in Anaheim is now Jonas Hiller, a guy who already has three rings — for the championship of the Swiss League, in 2002, 2005 and 2007. He’s also won two Spengler Cups with Davos.

Of course, if the Ducks win Game 7 against Detroit tonight, he just could win another ring this year. Along with a Conn Smythe Trophy as the playoff MVP.

Or, he could lose and join Roberto Luongo and Simeon Varlamov in 2009 post-season infamy.

It should be a great game tonight. 

3) Finally, in the CFL, the league announced four rule changes that were suggested by the fans in an online poll:

          a) The league’s board of governors approved moving the kickoff back 10 yards to the 25-yard line following a safety.

          b) Allowing coaches to use “wildcat” formations that would move the quarterback around, instead of requiring him to stand behind or under centre.

          c) Requiring a team that makes a field goal to kick off rather than give the receiving the team the option of taking the ball at its 35-yard-line.

         d) Giving a team a third instant replay challenge if its first two are successful.

I have no problem with any of those rules changes. I guess I’m just like a lot of fans. I didn’t think the quarterback was stuck behind centre anyway, didn’t care if a team kicked from the 35 or 25 after a safety and didn’t realize that taking the ball at the 35 or kicking off mattered that much.

My rule change remains the same: If a CFL team uses a Canadian (non-import) as its No. 3 quarterback, it can use an extra import in the starting line-up. At some point, we must — in our own league — make it worth the coaches’ while to develop Canadian  quarterbacks, just like they develop U.S. college rookies.

→ Leave a comment

Posted in Blog, general sports

Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Wings win the Cup. Game 6: Detroit 3 Pittsburgh 2.

Posted on June 4, 2008 by Scott Taylor| Comments Off

OK, so we called it. Big deal. Nothing could have been easier.

 

The Detroit Red Wings won the Stanley Cup in six games with a 3-2 win over the Pittsburgh Penguins at Mellon Arena last night.

 

What more can you say, really? The Wings are the best team in the National Hockey League. Period. They won the President’s Trophy and were the best team all year and Wednesday night, despite a late goal on a power-play (the result of another phantom call by two officials who must have had a wager on the game), they won the Cup on the road by outshooting the Penguins 30-22 and by getting a timely (OK, cheap) winning goal from the great Henrik Zetterberg. 

Still, this one was a no doubter. Zetterberg was a wonderful choice as the Conn Smythe Trophy winner and it was great to see old Dallas Drake get his first Stanley Cup after 16 years in the game.

Congratulations, as well, to Darren Helm and Derek Meech, the two Manitobans who contributed to Detroit’s fourth Cup in 11 years.

Granted, Pittsburgh was full marks for taking this series six games. After all, with a defence that includes Brooks Orpik, Rob Scuderi and Hal Gill, it was amazing that they had the bullets to win the Eastern Conference championship. Heck, young Meech, the eighth defenceman in Detroit, would be the fourth D-man in Pittsburgh.

Detroit was clearly the better team. They forechecked better, they skated better and they created more chances to win. They were tougher in the neutral zone, broke out quicker and beat a brilliant Marc-Andre Fleury enough times to win another title.

They even won that title with shaky ol’ Chris Osgood in net. Good on ‘em

Now, watch out for Pittsburgh. If they improve their defensive unit, they’ll start winning Stanley Cups, and they’ll win them for a long, long time. 

But mark my words. They won’t win any at all until that defence gets better.

Comments Off

Posted in 2008 NHL Playoffs, Blog

Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,